A “Walkout for Palestine” has been scheduled at Charlottesville High School (CHS), Friday, May 31, at 3:05 PM.
This follows a May 24 anti-Israel walkout at CHS, reportedly coordinated by at least one (and maybe more) of the school’s teachers with support from a group called “UVA Encampment for Gaza.” This walkout was retrospectively and cursorily addressed by Principal Kenneth Leatherwood in a post-event message to the CHS community:
CHS Update
Dear CHS community-
This afternoon at the beginning of 6th period, approximately 20 students left the building to show support for Palestine. Students gathered in C hallway, and then they walked the hallways before exiting the building. They assembled on campus near Melbourne Road for approximately 15 minutes. Afterwards, most of the students returned to class, while a few left campus. While students were outside, school administrators and other staff members also went outside to assure the students’ safety.
This event was initially disruptive at the school since other students were unaware of the plan. However, after the 20 students left the school, the remaining students who did not walk out resumed their normal classroom activities.
As always, we support students’ right to raise their voices. It is our preference that if students are organizing events such as these, the students would confer with administrators ahead of time so that we can put structures in place to respect their rights, keep them safe, and follow our policies.
Have a good long weekend.
Mr. Leatherwood
In photographs from the May 24 incident (see gallery below), “masked” and bullhorn-equipped community members can be seen congregating on Melbourne Avenue, while students are observed waving Palestinian flags on the periphery of CHS.
CHS Superintendent, Royal Gurley and Charlottesville Schools spokesman, Beth Cheuk, have been informally notified of the May 31 event via social media, in hopes that CHS parents and families will receive advance warning of the walkout.
Rob, I recognize that large cloth sign in your photos (the “Ceasefire Now – Let Gaza Live in #5 and #8) as the exact same sign that was trotted out for weeks on Fridays by a UVA-sponsored group in front of the Northrop Grumman plant.
It’s one thing if high school students are independently self-organizing their own events and protests but quite another if they are being courted, coerced, and even groomed by outside entities to be used as political pawns.
Shame on school administrators for not vetting these infiltrators and instigators, allowing this to happen on their watch. Their FIRST DUTY is to protect their students from this type of manipulation and abuse.